prefixing verbal template and OV

[Guillaume Jacques]

Dear Athabaskianists, yá'át'ééh !

I have just published an article (in Linguistic Typology) on the issue of
disharmony between affix ordering and basic word order. Here is an offprint:

http://www.academia.edu/2008163/Harmonization_and_disharmonization_of_affix_ordering_and_basic_word_order

The article mainly discusses the verbal template of Japhug Rgyalrong, a
polysynthetic Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Eastern Tibet  (which, like
Athabaskan languages, has strict verb final order with overwhelmingly
prefixing verbal morphology) in a historical perspective (how particular
morphemes were grammaticalized as prefixes rather than suffixes, despites
the fact that the basic corresponding construction should have led to the
grammaticalization as suffixes).

I did not really discuss Athabaskan in detail due to my insufficient
knowledge of this field. However, I think that typologically similar
phenomena are probably attested in Athabaskan.

I would be much interested to have feedback from Athabaskianists on this
particular topic (in particular, concerning the idea proposed by Givón
2000 on the origin of some prefixes in Tolowa); there are very few strict
OV languages with mainly prefixing verbal templates (as far as I know only
Na-Dene, Ienissean and Rgyalrong), and typological comparison of the
morphosyntax of these languages could be interesting, but it is not a
one-man project.

Best wishes to all of you,

Guillaume Jacques


-- 
Guillaume Jacques
CNRS (CRLAO) - INALCO
http://cnrs.academia.edu/GuillaumeJacques
http://himalco.hypotheses.org/
http://panchr.hypotheses.org/
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